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Cerrigydrudion

Cerrigydrudion, sometimes spelt Cerrig-y-drudion, is a village and community in Conwy, Wales. Until 1974 it was part of the historic county Denbighshire, when it became part of the newly formed county of Clwyd. When the county of Clwyd was abolished in 1996, the village was transferred to the new Conwy County Borough. The village formerly lay on the A5, but a short by-pass now takes the road along the south-western edge of the village. Prior to the by-pass being built, Cerrigydrudion was the highest village on the A5 between London and Holyhead.

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Geographically the area is classed as moorland and less favourable grassland. It is on the outskirts of Mynydd Hiraethog. The oldest feature of the village is the parish church dedicated to SaintMary Magdalene. It is believed to have existed in 440 AD. It is also mentioned in the 'Norwich Taxation' of 1254. The village is the largest in the area known as Uwchaled which also includes Llangwm, Pentrefoelas, Pentre-llyn-cymer, Dinmael, Glasfryn, Cefn Brith, Llanfihangel Glyn Myfyr and Cwm Penanner. Llangwm and Pentrefoelas are stand-alone parishes whilst the remainder fall within the parish of Cerrigydrudion. However, there are multiple Nonconformist chapels throughout the area of Uwchaled, located in many of the minor villages and hamlets.

The current population of the community stands at 692 residents.[2] The community remains one of the heartlands of the Welsh language and in the last census in 2001, 80% stated they had some knowledge of the language and over 76% stated that they used spoken Welsh in their normal every-day life.

Remnants of human habitation have been found in the area dating back to the Mesolithic era. Many of these were found in the area of Llyn Brenig, a manmade reservoir to the north of the village. The reservoir was built between 1973 and 1976 and was one of the major British engineering projects of that era. Today it is the most important tourist attraction in the area and provides competition class fly fishing facilities for many visitors.

One of the most famous sons of the parish is Jac Glan-y-Gors, who was a leading Radical at the end of the 18th century. His ideas were published in the polemical pamphlets Seren tan Gwmwl ("Star under a Cloud") and Toriad y Dydd ("Break of Day").

Cerrigydruidion Golf Club (now defunct) was founded in 1898. The club and course disappeared at the time of WW2.[3]

Heading out of Cerrigydrudion up a minor road off the B5105 is an iron age hill fort called Caer Caradog.[4] This fort dates to pre Roman times and although the origin of the fort's name is unclear,[5] as Caradog can be latinised as Caratacus, it possibly refers to the 1st century warrior Caratacus who fought against the Romans. A novel published in 2018 called Swords and Slavery describes a battle between Celts and Romans at this fort[6]

The Cerrigydrudion area possesses an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classificationCfb) similar to almost all of the United Kingdom. Due to its upland setting, it tends to be cooler than coastal areas of Wales throughout the year, and heavy snowfall can occur during winter months. The nearest MetOffice weather station[7] at Alwen, about 2.5 miles to the North, holds the Welsh record for the coldest day for the months of June, September and October[8]

The village has one public house, The White Lion this was owned in the 1970s by the famous Welsh entertainer Ronnie Williams who formed half of the duo Ryan and Ronnie. It once received as a guest the British Prime Minister David Lloyd George when he was unable to return home due to heavy snowfall. Across the road from The White Lion is The Queens Head, which closed in the 1990s. At the time of writing this (5/2018) The White Lion is closed and is up for sale

Other facilities include a cafe on the A5 main road called Ty Tan Llan Cafe, public toilets, library, A grocer shop and post office called Siop Uwchaled

Nearby is the older Alwen Reservoir, built between 1909 and 1921 to provide drinking water for the English town of Birkenhead. At its conception the engineer who designed the dam, George Deacon, also planned Llyn Brenig, built over half a century later.

One of the most popular social gatherings in the village occurs on the first Saturday in September when the local Agricultural Show takes place. This attracts upwards of 3,000 people and is one of the most successful non-county shows in Wales.